Dancing has been a sensitive subject among the disciples of the Church of Christ for generations.
Before 2012, it was banned expression at Abilene Christian, treated with much the same disdain as Darwin once was.
There was time the mention of Charles Darwin would get you an Old Testament scowl and possibly sent outside the city’s limits or shipped off to the Oklahoma Panhandle. For all one knows, maybe even inspiring a Moe Howard “Niagara Falls” routine.
Back to dancing. There is still much gray area about it. In essence, follow 1 Thessalonians 5:22 – King James Version – “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
In other words, The Floss and a theater production are OK, but no grinding on your beloved, stranger or otherwise at the club.
However, when Abilene Christian went to NCAA Division I status in basketball for the 2013-14, dancing was the hoped-for outcome. And on Thursday, these Wildcats delivered for their university by going to, to borrow from the marketeers, the Big Dance.
It didn’t take an advanced scouting report to know that Abilene Christian would not bust a bracket in the first round.
Abilene Christian met expectations.
As a 15 seed, the Wildcats were heavy underdogs to two-seed Kentucky, the seventh-ranked team in the country with a wing in the recorded history of NCAA basketball against a first-timer from West Texas in the NCAA Tournament.
In the last year of reporting, Abilene Christian reported $0 dollars profit, according to Equity in Athletics. Kentucky reported a profit of $12.1 million.
Olive Oyl versus Bluto.
Kentucky’s Wildcats, even without P.J. Washington, defeated Abilene Christian 79-44.
“I mean, it was a great experience being out there for March Madness and everything,” said Jaren Lewis, one of three seniors on the team, along with Jaylen Franklin and Hayden Farquhar. “It was great knowing it was the first time in our school’s history, but at the end of the day, it stings losing like that.”
It was, though, he continued, an experience they would never forget.
What is college, if not that?
The season is over for Abilene Christian, but the basketball team, which finished with a school-matching-best 27 victories, made a national impression.
The Wildcats of Texas were everybody’s favorite underdog on Thursday. A national audience fell in love with them.
The coach’s wardrobe was a national concern all week after he ripped his only suit’s pants celebrating the team’s Southland Conference tournament championship victory last week.
Joe Golding, a 43-year-old former ACU player and head coach since 2011, planned to use a $1,000 bonus he earned from the SLC title to buy a new suit, but there was no time to do it before game time on Thursday.
“Abilene Christian University has a March Madness game against Kentucky tomorrow,” wrote a good Samaritan in California with no association with ACU as the preface to a GoFundMe campaign, “but their coach, Joe Golding, ripped his pants while celebrating their last win. He can’t buy a new suit until he gets his bonus, meaning he has to coach on live television with a hole in his butt. Help me raise $750 so we can get him a new suit in time for the game!”
The crowdsourcing had generated $1,085 as of 11:30 p.m. on Thursday and was trending. Despite the best of intentions, Golding coached with the hole in his trousers. The crowd sourcer said he trusted the school and the coach to do with the money what it was intended for.
ACU got to Jacksonville, Fla., for its first NCAA Tournament by winning the SLC tournament, beating New Orleans in the final. Most incredibly, the Wildcats were only in their second season of eligibility for the NCAA Tournament since moving from Division II membership to Division I affiliation six years ago.
That move was made despite not having any sustained success in men’s basketball over the previous 30 years. The first season included blowout losses at Duquesne, Maryland and Iowa. The losses mounted the following seasons, but in Golding the administration trusted.
There is some history at Abilene Christian, which has been playing basketball since 1919. The Wildcats have played in nine NCAA Division II tournaments. The most notable names, on campus only, are longtime coach A.B. Morris and player and later coach Dee Nutt.
The stage on Thursday proved too big, at least early.
ACU shot just 5 for 26 and committed eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes in falling way behind. The Wildcats scored only 13 points and were down 26 at halftime.
In the locker room during intermission, Golding’s message for his team: “I love you. I’m proud of you. Go out there and do the best you can.”
ACU played better in the second half, doubling their offensive output from the first half.
“I think it was the best season in ACU history,” said Golding, who grew up in Midland and Wichita Falls. “I don’t think it was one of the best, I think it was the best season in school history. And we’re going to celebrate those three seniors and this team like it was the best because they deserve it.
“I want to make sure moving forward that this team is celebrated. It’s not my hole in my pants, it’s our team, and it’s our university because they deserve it, man. These guys have been incredible, man. I’m fortunate to coach them. They took me on a hell of a ride, one that I’ll never forget the rest of my life.”
That sounds maybe even an occasion for some dancing.
